The Hard-Working Person, The Worthless Man, the Perverse Man And The Man Of Violence (Proverbs 16:26-29).
This subsection is based on the idea of ‘a man' (ish) which is repeated in each proverb apart from the first, and connects back to the use of ‘a man' in Proverbs 16:25. In each case the ish is a worldly, godless man. In contrast we have the ‘person' (nephesh) of the hardworking, righteous man. So the ‘person (nephesh) of the hard worker' is contrasted with the ‘man of worthlessness' (Proverbs 6:12), the ‘man of perverseness' (Proverbs 2:12; Proverbs 2:14; Proverbs 6:14) and the ‘man of violence' (Proverbs 3:31; compare Proverbs 1:10-19), the contrast possibly bringing out a similar contrast to that of spirit and flesh in the New Testament. The spiritual man (nephesh) contrasts with the fleshly men (ish).
The ‘person' of the hard-worker, who satisfies his own cravings by hard work, and is self-contained, especially parallels and contrasts strongly with the ‘man' of violence who, because he does not want to work hard, chooses easier ways of satisfying his cravings by highway robbery, and draws others into it (Proverbs 1:10-19).
Notice how all are involved in words. The hardworker's mouth urges him to work harder. In stark contrast the worthless man's lips are like a scorching fire, the perverse man's lips produce strife and division, and the violent man entices men into his own ways. There is a further interesting contrast in that the hardworking person ‘labours', the worthless man ‘digs (usually a pit or a well)', the perverse man ‘sows', all verbs indicating hard work, whilst the violent man ‘entices'. Not for him the stigma of labour.
The subsection is presented chiastically as follows:
A The person (‘appetite') of the hardworking man labours for him, for his mouth urges him to it (Proverbs 16:26).
B A worthless man devises (digs up) mischief, and in his lips there is as a scorching fire (Proverbs 16:27).
B A perverse man scatters abroad (sows) strife, and a whisperer (or ‘talebearer') separates chief friends (Proverbs 16:28).
A A man of violence entices his neighbour, and leads him in a way that is not good (Proverbs 16:29).
In A we have the person who works hard for himself and satisfies his own appetites, whilst in the contrasting parallel we have the violent and enticing man (Proverbs 1:10-19), who shuns hard work, and takes the easy way out, drawing others into his schemes. Centrally in B we have the worthless man whose lips are a scorching fire, who compares with the perverse man whose lips sow discord.
‘The person (or ‘appetite') of the hardworking man labours for him,
For his mouth urges him to it.'
There is probably a double significance to the use of nephesh (person, appetite) here. In the first place it contrasts with ish and indicates the worthy man, even the spiritual man, for the nephesh was what God breathed into man in Genesis 2:7, making him distinct from the animals, and therefore in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). This ties in with the nearby reference to the nephesh in Proverbs 16:24 where pleasant words are sweet to the inward man (nephesh). See also Proverbs 16:17.
In the second place it can signify ‘appetite' and therefore as paralleling the mouth which urges him to work hard so that it can be satisfied. He is thus both spiritual and yet very much down to earth. But it would be degrading its use here to make the second the dominant thought, and would lose the deliberate contrast between nephesh and ish. Indeed the mouth here can rather be seen as contrasted with the lips in Proverbs 16:27 in which is a scorching fire; with the whisperer/talebearer in Proverbs 16:28; and with the enticing words of the violent man in Proverbs 16:29. In contrast to these the mouth of the hardworking man urges him to hard work.
In Proverbs the hardworking man, in contrast to the sluggard (Proverbs 6:6), is seen as the righteous man, the wise man, the man whom wisdom rewards with wealth and status (Proverbs 10:4-5; Proverbs 12:24). As here, he contrasts will all other men, with the man who wrongly thinks that his way is right (Proverbs 16:25), and with the worthless, the perverse, the talebearer and the violent (Proverbs 16:27-29).
‘A worthless man devises mischief,
And in his lips there is as a scorching fire.'
The worthless man (compare Proverbs 6:12) is also hardworking. He ‘digs up' mischief. He constantly schemes and plans evil. But his lips, rather than encouraging him to hard work (Proverbs 16:26), are used to scorch others. Metaphorically he gives them multiple burns. As we learn in Proverbs 6:12-19 he has a perverse (crooked) mouth, he perjures himself and he sows discord among brothers.
‘A perverse man scatters abroad strife,
And a whisperer separates chief friends.'
The perverse man (Proverbs 2:12; Proverbs 2:14-15; Proverbs 6:14), the one who is at loggerheads with wisdom, is also busy. He also sows, but he ‘sows' strife, scattering it to all sides and causing division and disharmony. With his whispered lies and distorted tales he even separates close friends. No one is more dangerous than the whisperer.
‘A man of violence entices his neighbour,
And leads him in a way that is not good.'
The last of the false trio, all taken from the Prologue, is the man of forceful character (violent character. Compare Proverbs 10:6). He is not to be envied, and his ways are not to be chosen (Proverbs 3:31). He entices his neighbour into ways that are not good. He is well illustrated in Proverbs 1:10-19. He draws him into the way which is right in his own eyes, but which ends in death (Proverbs 16:25).